"And can't you do it now, little darling?"
"No, not now."
"I must wait for that, must I? We must see if we can soften the General's obdurate heart, my dear. But you are not unhappy now?"
To his surprise, the shadow rose again in her beautiful eyes, the lips fell into their old mournful lines.
"I don't know," she said sadly. "I ought not to be; but after all perhaps this does not make things any better. Oh, I wish I could forget what I know—what I have heard!"
"It is about Flossy?" said Hubert, in a whisper.
She hid her face, upon his shoulder without a word.
"My poor child, I am half inclined to think that I can guess. I know that Flossy's life has not been all that it should have been. No, don't tell me—I will not ask you again unless you wish to confide in me."
"You said you did not know."
"I do not know—exactly; but I suspect; and, my dear Enid, we can do nothing. Make your mind easy on that point. Our highest duty now is to hold our tongues."